Britain's New Electric Car Industry

Britain's car industry is about to redesign electric cars to be either cheaper or to have longer range.

A key to achieving this will be to make changes to the batteries currently used in electric vehicles

The WMG group at the University of Warwick, led by Professor David Greenwood, is working with motor manufacturers and others to make improvements to the current design of Lithium Ion batteries whilst keeping an eye out for the next generation of Battery, possibly the Sodium Ion Battery.

Also in the design mix are wireless charging (inductive loop) rails in the ground where buses and similar stop/start vehicles can rest over a rail and obtain a boost charge every time they come to rest.

However there are many issues to be overcome, not the least of which, is the lack of technology to make the existing refuelling times for electric vehicle similar to that of petrol or diesel engine cars.

The programme discusses how this might be achieved, or indeed, whether it ever can be achieved in the foreseeable future.

We also hear why the WMG group feel that the concept of using Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology in cars will never take off.